A Number of Hurt as Rough Air Strikes Delta Aircraft Landing at Sydney, Australia
Multiple passengers and crew sustained injuries following a Delta Airlines flight traveling from LA to Sydney, Australia experienced rough air this past Friday.
Flight DL41 "encountered brief turbulence" as it touched down at the Sydney airport, a company official told. Four flight attendants were injured.
The New South Wales Ambulance Service reported they evaluated a total of five people, and transported three of them to a medical facility with non-life-threatening injuries that such as spinal discomfort and head pain. Those affected spanned from their thirties and seventies.
The event represents the newest example of commercial jets experiencing atmospheric disturbance, with aviation specialists indicating that shifting climate patterns is a major factor.
The aircraft was carrying nearly 250 travelers and 15 crew members on the Airbus A350, the official noted, adding that the plane landed "safely" at Sydney Airport at 6:48 a.m. local time on the day in question.
The NSW Ambulance Service indicated they were alerted just three minutes ahead of the plane touched down, and ambulances were ready and waiting at the airport.
Why plane turbulence is getting increasingly prevalent - and more severe.
During the past year, twenty-five passengers and crew were injured when a Delta Airlines flight, flying from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam, encountered "severe" atmospheric disturbance just a couple of hours into the transoceanic journey, and was forced to make an unscheduled landing.
Earlier this year, passengers and crew on a Singapore Airlines jet endured a frightening brief five-second period of extreme instability. A traveler lost their life and dozens were injured, as individuals not fastened in were thrown from their seats and fell back down.
In-flight turbulence is not uncommon on aircraft journeys, and while occurrences of rough conditions seem to be rising, they are statistically infrequent.
Estimates show that there are approximately 5,000 incidents of severe-or-greater turbulence every year, out of a total of over 35 million journeys that now take off around the world.
Strong atmospheric disturbance is described as when the vertical motions of a plane passing through rough air masses exert greater than a significant G-force on your body - sufficient force to throw you from your seat if you were not fastened by a restraint.
As a changing climate alters atmospheric conditions, specialists caution that air travel could become less smooth: temperature changes and changing jet streams in the jet stream level are projected to heighten the regularity and severity of severe turbulence.